Cross-Border Shopping Causing Serious Shipping Delays

Canada’s Border Service Agency and Canada Post cite major delays in parcel shipments as consumers have massively opted to shop online, to take advantage of their new buying power. Retail prices still delay reflecting the new strength of the loonie.

In an effort to take advantage of the recent strength of the dollar, Canadian shoppers have turned to their PCs for bargains and the effects are already being felt. Some consumer parcels from the United States are said to have waited days and even weeks in mail centres before being released for delivery. Parcel and mail volumes have risen by at least 18 per cent since last year, and these figures do not even reflect the full extent of the trend. These were compiled before the Canadian dollar closed above the value of the US dollar, on Sept. 28. Since then Canadian cross-border purchases in the US have significantly increased, with experts expecting the trend to continue throughout the holiday season. The surge in purchases has effectively chocked operations in three of Canada Post’s main international mail-sorting centres in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

"The delays are being caused by the surge in online purchases," said Chris Williams, a Canadian Border Services Agency spokesman in Ottawa, quoted by the Canadian Press. "It is not a security issue. It is due in large part to the surge in the Canadian dollar. This has led to making our mail centres very, very busy."

While some argue that the slowdown was planned to convince Canadians to shop at home, Canada Post ensures this is not the case.

"The sizable volume increase has presented challenges," said Canada Post spokesman Francois Legault.

"Both CBSA and Canada Post are collaborating to deal with the additional volumes in a timely manner so we can respect our standards. We are doing everything we can to get back on track," he added.

Canada Post will be hiring more staff to deal with the burden of Internet purchases, said the spokesman. In the meantime, some retailers are taking a hit, selling products at US prices, in hopes of keeping shoppers in their stores. Canada Post is also asking consumers who plan to buy holiday gifts online to do so as early as possible, as there is no guarantee they will reach their destination on time.